For all real numbers a and b, 2a*b = a^2+b^2.

True or false? If false, explain your reasoning.

I'm pretty sure this is false, but I'm not sure how I would explain that?

let a = 1

let b = 2
2 a b = 4
a^2+b^2 = 1+4 = 5

4 is not 5

find two numbers that don't work

To determine if the equation is true or false, we can start by testing it with specific numbers for "a" and "b." Let's choose a = 1 and b = 2:

Using the equation,

2a * b = a^2 + b^2

Substituting the values,

2 * 1 * 2 = 1^2 + 2^2

4 = 1 + 4

4 = 5

Since 4 is not equal to 5, the equation does not hold true for the values of a = 1 and b = 2. Therefore, we can conclude that the equation is false.

To further explain the reasoning, the equation states that for all real numbers "a" and "b," their product multiplied by 2 is equal to the sum of their squares. However, this is not true for all real numbers. By providing a counterexample, where a = 1 and b = 2 resulting in 4 = 5, we demonstrate that the equation does not hold true universally.